Ostrovok raises $13.6M funding from US luminaries to launch Russian hotel site

Fledgling startup Ostrovok has captured the attention of some of the US’s biggest investors in travel to launch a Booking.com-style product in Russia.

Fledgling startup Ostrovok has captured the attention of some of the US’s biggest investors in travel to launch a Booking.com-style product in Russia.

General Catalyst Partners (backer of ITA Software and Kayak) and Accel Partners (HotelTonight and others) are among a string of investors supporting the round, including Peter Thiel and Founders Fund (Facebook), Niklas Zennstrom and Atomico (Skype), Mark Pincus (founder of Zynga), Esther Dyson (Yandex board member) and Fritz Demopoulos (founder of Qunar).

The US-centric backing has fed into the ethos of the company, with founders Serge Faguet and Kirill Makharinsky bringing their combined experience at Google, Tokbox, Younoodle and Quid to create what is touted as a “Silicon Valley-type” startup to Moscow.